Parliamentary committee review on worldwide abolition of the death penalty

21/08/2015

The Human Rights Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade announced today that it will review how Australia engages internationally to promote abolition of the death penalty and what further steps Australia can take to advocate for worldwide abolition.

Chairman of the sub-committee, the Hon Philip Ruddock MP, called for new and effective ways to advocate for worldwide abolition.

"We need to go beyond an approach where our voice is loudest immediately prior to a planned execution. We need to shift the focus to ending the death penalty worldwide and ensure that our advocacy for abolition is effective in bringing about this change," Mr Ruddock said.

For more information about the review, or how to make submissions, visit the committee's page on the Australian Parliament's website.